Liliana Castillo Freedom New Mexico Vern Witten sits in a special chair in his Portales home. His grandfather came in from working one day and sat in the chair to rest and died. Portales resident Vern Witten is the oldest of four and was milking cows and working in the field by the age of […]

Liliana Castillo: Freedom New Mexico Clovis Schools Director of Health Services Rhonda Sparks believes there is a difference between medicine and healing. She said just because medicine can’t fix a health issue, you can still heal a person with human kindness. Name: Rhonda Sparks Profession: Director of health services for Clovis Municipal Schools Birthdate: Nov. […]

LilianaCastillo: Freedom New Mexico Don Criss has worked at KENW-TV for 36 and a quarter years. He said he’ll remain busy after retirement by telling stories at church and getting a ham operators certification. Name: Don Criss Birthday: Jan. 7, 1943 Hometown: Portales Profession: Director of Production Services for KENW-TV Family: Wife of 42 years […]

Tara Harris, a 2001 Clovis High graduate, said horses have always been a part of her life. Her passion for horses will be featured on a television show in two weeks. Harris started riding horses when she was 2 years old and competed in rodeo events when she was in elementary school. While pursuing a […]

By Tibor Machan: Syndicated columnist As I was channel surfing the other night, I went past one broadcast channel on which I saw and heard the following sentence uttered by a young woman: “He was a businessman so he would do anything to turn a profit.” I caught a glimpse of the name and it […]

By Dave Wagner: CNJ sports writer Former Eastern New Mexico University football coach Harold “Bud” Elliott made a lasting impression on many of his colleagues around the Lone Star Conference. Elliott, ENMU’s football coach from 1994-2004, died early Tuesday at the age of 73 in Lubbock from heart and kidney failure. West Texas A&M’s Don […]

Amn. Thomas Trower, 27th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Thursday marked the beginning of Physician Assistant Week, commemorating a profession that began almost 40 years ago. On Oct. 6, 1967 the first physician assistant (PA) class graduated from Duke University. The class was comprised of Navy corpsman that served in Vietnam. The curriculum was based on […]

By Tibor Machan I have read nearly every novel by Robert B. Parker, famous mainly for his Spenser PI books. And I like them. His writing is neat, sharp — no nonsense. His character, Spenser, is tough and teeming with integrity. Spenser’s a great cook, drinks properly and has an ideal love life with Susan, […]

Paralegal Shannon Cassidy goes through files at Randall Harris’ law firm Friday in Clovis. Many schools and universities are offering paralegal courses that can certify successful graduates in less than two months. (CNJ staff photo: Eric Kluth) By David Irvin: CNJ staff writer The clock is ticking and the paperwork is piling up. Two-hundred pages […]

By Tibor Machen No, this time I am only indirectly speaking about the terrible legal system that the USA is now sliding toward. Instead, it is the TV show, Law & Order, that comes up for discussion. When the show began, there was a healthy idealism about it. The initial story lines stressed principles not […]